Man, this is a tough one for me to review. This is one of those books that EVERYONE LOVES THE PANTS OFF OF... except for me. I didn't hate Under the Never Sky, but I didn't love it; for me it was just okay.
The beginning of this book was kind of tough. We're really thrown into the midst of things. We have Realms, Smarteyes, Outsiders, the Aether, Dwellers, Scire, and more. Wait.. what? Exactly. The lack of explanations was tough at first, but as the book progresses I slowly started to pick up on the meanings of each of those things. I think the knowledge being held back was half frustrating and half an interesting way to read. I'm the kind of person who loves details and explanations, so having to piece bits together along the way was a new challenge.
Overall, Under the Never Sky had a very interesting story. There are so many cool sides to it: virtual realities, environmental problems, mutations, science, and corrupt governments. I really liked how all the different elements came together. It kind of felt like an interesting combination. On the one side we have crazy technology, programming, and virtual realities. But on the other side we have very primal tribes. It was done in a great way and didn't feel like a cliché scientists vs. natives plot; it was different.
I think my main reason for giving this book only three stars is that I was missing any kind of big attachment to the book. I was never super excited, the book was not un-put-down-able, I wasn't ripping through the pages, and ultimately I just didn't care that much. The story was cool and interesting, but I wasn't hooked, I wasn't addicted, and I wasn't dying to find out what would happen next. I kind of feel like Under the Never Sky suffered from too much telling; I never saw or felt the emotions—I was just told they were there. As a result, I didn't get that invested in the characters or the story.
But despite those problems, there was one thing I did really LOVE about the book: the romance. The romance in this book is awesome! Honestly, it doesn't play that big of a role in the book. The romance is only existent for maybe 10-15% of the story. It was kind of quick and fleeting. The build up was there (and it was good—no insta-love!), but we didn't have that much time to actually enjoy the romance once it set in. But that short percentage of the story was by far my favourite. The romance is incredibly sweet, conflicting, and for the first time during the book, I actually smiled. That fleeting bit of romance was the only time I actually physically showed emotion while reading the book.
"Perry brushed a kiss on her cheek while she was chewing, and she learned that it was the loveliest thing to be kissed for no reason, even while chewing food. It brightened the woods, and the never sky, and everything."
—Under the Never Sky, Page 326
As you can see from my graph, I wasn't crazy about the ending. The romance reached its high point, then it kind of dropped off. The whole thing felt oddly rushed, and I didn't like how Aria and Perry ended up in different places. Aria and Perry went from being together and being really happy to being completely separated in like two seconds. Then suddenly Aria is being blackmailed into doing this mission and Perry is Blood Lord (I did actually like that part). I was just like WHOAH SLOW DOWN! And as I said, I didn't like how Aria and Perry were separated. And Perry just assumed Aria was dead? (at least I think so.. that wasn't actually clear to me) Did he not even bother looking for her at all?
Given all the hype surrounding Under the Never Sky, I am disappointed that I didn't enjoy it more. I will definitely be continuing the series since it intrigued me enough, but it still wasn't as good as I was hoping! I wanted something that would really suck me in and have me reading through the night, but Under the Never Sky didn't do that for me.